Synod decision sees launch of 'parallel province'
John Dunnett
The decision to approve the bishops’ proposals at July’s General Synod meeting has kicked off the launch of the de facto parallel province, as warned of by the Alliance (a coalition of groups within the Church of England who are committed to upholding the existing biblical and historic doctrine of marriage and sexual ethics). CEEC will now work with our partners in the Alliance to make this a reality.
Following the Synod decision, standalone services of blessing for same sex couples will now happen in the very near future in a church near you. The timetable has also been set for the removing of discipline and rules around clergy marrying their same sex partners. It is dismaying that the leaders of the Church of England seem intent on leading the church away from the Biblical teaching and doctrine passed down through the centuries and shared by millions of Christians in the Anglican Communion today.
The urgent need for a CofE ‘settlement:’ Key questions
Following the most recent Church of England General Synod, it was announced that three groups would take forward the work of the ‘Living in Love and Faith’ (LLF) project relating to prayers for same-sex couples, and would be overseen by a programme board chaired by the Archbishop of York.
These three working groups are looking at pastoral guidance, the introduction of standalone ‘Prayers of Love and Faith’, and charged with proposing provisions or a ‘settlement’, as deemed necessary.